Christmas Is Not A Sales Marketing Plan

Well, it is that time of the year for me to begin my watch of the marketing aspect of Christmas, as if it were a sales event, as opposed to a day that applies to many of us as a special time with our faith in God.  I write on this issue every year, and there is something that needs to be understood before placing judgment on me, or those who believe as I do, or before deciding that this has anything to do with others sharing in mine or anyone’s personal beliefs.  That is totally irrelevant with the purpose of this write.  No one is required to say “Merry Christmas” nor do I expect or demand that from anyone.  No one is required to even use the word “Christmas” nor do I expect or demand that from anyone.

My problem is with those who choose to not believe or share in my personal faith, and at the same time will use my faith in a manner to produce profit.  Christmas is not a marketing campaign; it is a celebration of the birth of Jesus, the Son of God.  You are not required to accept that part of this time of the year, and no one is suggesting that you do not have a right to “not believe” for whatever reason may apply.  Having made this point clear, I will now get to the substance of my actual intent with this write.

Black Friday is usually the official beginning of the Christmas shopping, and it comes with the largest marketing agenda and promotion that applies to sales within the nation at any time of the year.  Many of us do buy gifts for those who are close to us, especially children, but those Children are usually told by us who have faith in God what this time of year is actually representing.  And again, that is the choice of the individual, and no one is saying differently. 

My problem, and my view is shared by many who are a part of my faith, is with the actual marketing of some who take advantage of the sales increase that is inevitable at this time of the year. 

If you watch the advertisements on television over the next month, you will see examples of what I speak.  You will see ads whereas you will see a Christmas tree, Christmas presents, children singing Christmas songs, and yet in that same ad, you will not hear the word “Christmas” mentioned.  Saying the word, “Christmas” is not required, and no one is violating any laws by substituting the word “Holiday” for the word “Christmas” but therein poses a problem for many of us.  If people are so dead-set on denying our faith, and God, Himself, they should not be able to use our faith and God for profit, and not expect us to be angered by the “FREE RIDE BASED ON A FAITH YOU DO NOT SUPPORT.”

Each year, I watch the television advertisements and make it clear which retail outlet or company is intentionally avoiding the use of the word “Christmas” but uses our faith for mere profit, while denying it to even exist.  I will add comments to make mention of those who either use the word “Christmas” or those who choose to intentionally omit the word “Christmas” to avoid hurting the feelings of those who do not share in our faith.  Each year, we see many retail outlets that in previous years have avoided using the word “Christmas” changing their ways and including the mention of “Christmas” the next year.  We will see if that will happen again, this year.  

Again, this is simply an observation, not an effort to demand that others share in a faith they choose to not believe.  It is merely an ongoing effort to focus on those who are using our faith for a profit, while they deny the faith as they do so.  No one should be angered by my words.  I am not asking anyone to change or demanding that they observe my faith simply because I do.  I have a simple rule with Christmas shopping.  If I see an ad in a newspaper or on television that intentionally uses the word “Holiday” instead of “Christmas,” they will not be a part of my shopping experience.  It is just that simple.  Vic Damico 2011       

Tags: Religion, Faith, God, Vic Damico

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My Faith As It Applies To Me…As An Individual…

It is quite confusing, and even hurtful to have my personal faith not only criticized, but explained to me by those who do not share my faith, so they could not possibly understand my faith much less have the knowledge or the ability to accurately describe or explain it to others. 

I will put the basic concept of my faith in simple words, as to how it applies to me, and to most who share in my Christian faith.  Christianity is not based on the collective group of Christians with how faith is allowed to exist.  It is not a club, whereas all members are exactly the same, and as with any group, there are individuals who even we do not see as representing our understanding of faith, as it applies to us as an individual.  The best example I can provide to use as an example of the misguided efforts of those who will attack our faith, as a whole, based on the actions or behaviors of an individual would be the killing of Dr. George Tiller, who was an abortion doctor.  Based on my faith, I am completely against the idea of abortion, but having said that, the killing of Dr. Tiller was a horrible, and unjustified act.  I despise what the man stood for, but I certainly do not condone the action of the individual that took his life.  That individual who killed Dr. Tiller did not represent my faith, even though he considered himself a Christian.  I cannot state that any more clearly.  The blaming or the connecting that horrible action as being representative of the Christian faith, as a whole, is wrong in every sense of the word, as it applies to my personal faith.  To judge all Christians as if we were all the same, or to connect certain actions and behaviors to the group collectively is both misleading and inaccurate.  Even God, Himself allows for free will, so it is not automatic that Christians will not stray from our true faith, based on the principle that God allows us to make our own decisions, and we are judged as individuals by God, not as a group collectively.  So, if you connect Christians, collectively with incidents such as the example I just mentioned, then you are not only dead wrong with your accusations, but you are misrepresenting the faith, itself, because the Christian faith does not accept that behavior as right, any more than you do.   

Now, to make that a little more understanding, consider the following.  My faith is the relationship between God and me.  That is the true extent of my faith, and everything else revolves around that one simple component.  I am responsible for my own actions and behavior, and that is all I am able to control, and that is how I am judged by God.  I make mistakes just as anyone else, and that does not make me any less human, nor should it be a dark spot on Christianity, as a whole.  There is no power on Earth that can come between the relationship between God and me, and that is how it is, regardless of the understanding of others who do not have that faith and that is my true strength in life.  As with life, in general, I have specific guidelines that distinguish between what is right and what is wrong, but God, Himself allows me to make my own decisions, as I know that I am responsible for those decisions. 

My faith is real, and it exists, and God exists, even without your belief, or your approval, and your disbelief does not change anything as far as my personal faith.  Good and bad exist in my world, as I follow my faith, just as it does with yours, with or without that faith.  I have problems within my life, just as do you, with or without that faith.  But the truth is, that if I do something wrong, or even illegal, it involves me, and me only, and should not be connected to every Christian on the face of the Earth.  That misrepresentation is ridiculous, and even those who make the claim know that I cannot be responsible for the actions of others, just as you cannot be responsible for my actions. 

It is disheartening to hear the nonstop attempts by those without faith putting forth such great efforts to claim that all Christians are evil, based on the evil that may actually exist in the world around us, even by those who have made horrible decisions as Christians.  Christians are no more perfect than you are, with your life, as a whole, but with my faith, I try to live my life based on the guidelines set for me, and I do so as an individual, not as representative of Christianity, as a collective body.  Now, with all I have said, there is one remaining factor that cannot be disputed, based on my faith.  There is nothing you can do to weaken the relationship between God and me.  It is not possible, for the reason I gave before.  My relationship with God is just that.  It is a personal relationship that exists exclusively between God and me, therefore; only God knows my true heart.  Not you, not your friends, not other groups of society, and not even my closest friend.  The extent of my faith, and my commitment lies only in the eyes of God.  You cannot alter that in any way, and that is my true strength.  Your attacks are misguided and unjustified, but at the same time, in reality, they are harmless to my personal faith and me.  We try to represent what is acceptable, according to our faith, but we are individuals within that faith, and that is how we should be judged, not as a collective group.     

I am not attacking anyone, nor am I saying you do not have a right to your own personal beliefs, or even the choice to believe in nothing.  It is not my decision, and it is not for me to judge.  But then again, I should not be judged by the actions of others, and my actions should not be used to judge Christianity, as a whole.  Vic Damico 2011 

Tags: religion faith vic damico

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This is an article that I wrote just after the "Economic Stimulus Plan" was signed by President Obama.  I wanted to re-post it, mainly because we are in serious need of evaluating where we have gone with not only this plan, but with the overall direction that our nation has taken.  We are quickly reaching the 2012 Presidential election, and we cannot afford to just dismiss past failures, and not use the insight that can be derived from those failures to better understand "what not to do in the future."  And just for the record, I was also opposed to the Economic Stimulus Plan that was implemented during George W. Bush's time in office.  My focus is usually on what is happening, and the good or bad it represents, not who is to blame, or who will get credit.  Having said that, this particular write does represent my concerns with the direction that President Obama and the liberals (not all of them) are taking us.

TOO BLIND TO SEE THE OBVIOUS: A Socialist Agenda!

Let us set aside the American economy, the banking crisis, the unemployment rate, and the automobile crisis for a moment.  I will now direct your thoughts toward a more serious problem, if you are even able to comprehend that thought.  Whether you acknowledge it or not, whether you agree with it or not, we are well on the road to becoming a country that is governed by socialism.

The first phase of the process has been in place for years.  I am speaking of the mentality that those who are successful in life, and have accumulated wealth are responsible for the well being of the rest of the country.  We constantly hear our political leaders commit to taking care of the poor, and how they are determined to reduce the tax burden of the middle class, and tell us in plain words that it is the responsibility of the upper income class to provide everyone below them with all they will need.  That is the true example of trickle down economics, and the Democrats live by that logic.  This is told to us directly by those in Washington, but for those of you who are too blind to see beyond that, you never really consider the fact that your middle class tax dollars are doing the same for those below your income level, so stop thinking that only the upper class are paying for everything. The upper income level is paying for most of what happens in America, but don’t let your government officials brainwash you into thinking that those below are getting a free ride.  Anyone who pays taxes is supporting this drivel that we are promoting as economic stimulation.

Our liberal government officials remind us that it is moral and patriotic for those who have worked so hard to become so successful to take care of those who have not done as well.  First of all, it is only the moral and patriotic thing to do if it is done of our own accord.  For this to be done by government mandate is as close to socialism as we can get.  If you are intelligent enough to comprehend the actual meaning of socialism, and you do not classify this situation as being just that, then you are either an economic idiot, or you are simply following the liberal agenda as a dog would follow its master.

Anyone that holds an office whereas they were voted into that office by the American people who is unable to perceive this as being representative of a socialist government does not deserve to represent the people within our great country.  This way of thinking indicates that many of those who hold political offices do not have a true understanding of the very foundation of our great country, and they are going against the ideas that made America the greatest country in the world.  The suggestion that this is socialism is not the result of a right-wing conspiracy, and it is not simply a view shared by a few people within this country.  It is socialism based on nothing other than the definition of the word socialism.  The Republicans are opposed to this share the wealth mentality because they do not want a socialist government, and are accused of not showing compassion for the middle class, who is along with the upper class taking care of the lower class.  The liberals dismiss it as a Republican scare tactic.

Now, with the banking system within our country, we are slipping into stage two of the socialism conversion process.  Part of the plan that is being presented before our eyes is that the government has determined that it will tell the banks who they can loan money to, what interest rate they are allowed to charge, and even what they are allowed to pay their employees. Now, with the enormous amount of foreclosures that are taking place, there is talk of suspending future foreclosures, and even government intervention that would ignore, or even change the legal, binding contracts between the lending institution and the buyer.  This will result in legal actions because the government cannot alter a legal contract, but it will happen.  This control was a part of the plan when our government initiated the bailout that was presented as a process that would help the banks to endure our stressful economy, and to help the people of America.  This even smells like socialism, and it will do nothing other than to release money from the banks to help people who are not meeting their financial obligations, prevent some foreclosures, but in the process, will possibly cripple the banking system as we know it.  If the government suspends foreclosures, as they have implied as a possibility, they will in fact be telling homeowners that they can avoid paying their mortgage and not expect any action to be taken by the lending institutions.    What has the federal government ever done that would indicate that they have even a clue as to how to manage money?  The Republicans are opposed to over-regulating and controlling the banks, or the private sector in general, because they are against any form of socialism, and the liberals condemn them for not wanting to help fund the banking crisis in order to stimulate the economy.  These regulations will totally change the meaning of the free enterprise system, and will have the opposite effect on the economy that the liberals are promising.

The Democrats have made it clear for some time that they want to have a universal health care system in place within our country.  The following statement may sound harsh, but it is 100% true.  Health care is not a right!  There is nothing in our constitution that states that the government is responsible for this part of our lives.  This is a perfect example of how we, as a country have become blind when trying to determine the difference between a right as an American citizen, and individual responsibility.  We do a pretty good job with the health care in America, and if you do not think so, pay close attention to the following, because no one has ever presented this figure, as I will now.  We hear over and over that 47,000,000 Americans do not have health care.  Let’s look at that figure in a different way!  In a country of 312,000,000 people whereas 47,000 people do not have health care, you are actually stating that in a country without a universal health care system in place, there are 265,000,000 people that do have health care.  Why would we want to restructure our health care system because only 10 % to 15 % of the population do not have health care.  First of all, I do not believe the number 47,000 to be accurate because we have been hearing that same figure over and over for the last four years.  That number also includes the 20 million (no one knows the real number) of illegal aliens within the country who will also be included in the health care plan.  No one knows for sure if any of these actual numbers are accurate,  especially since they are provided by our government. I personally do not believe that universal health care will ever exist in America, but if it does, it will be the most damaging project in the history of our nation.  In order to do what the liberals want to do, they would have to regulate what doctors would be allowed to charge for their services, and as a result, the doctors would pick and choose patients according to what would allow them to make a profit, or present the least risk for problems.  Malpractice insurance would skyrocket because the medical professionals would work according to government guidelines instead of by their instincts, knowledge, and experience.  The government would then have to tell the pharmaceutical companies what they would be allowed to charge for the drugs, which would cut so much into the profits that they could not afford to do sufficient research on the drugs.  Then we see less quality drugs, because the lack of research would eradicate the value of the drug, itself to the patient who is to receive it.  Then, there is the fact that the liberals think that the insurance companies should accept anyone as a client, even if they have a pre-existing condition.  That is an absolutely ridiculous theory.  If, for instance, an insurance company is obligated to take on a client that had just been diagnosed with lung cancer, the individual may pay only a few premiums, and the insurance company would possibly be responsible for $100,000 to $500,000 in treatments.  Multiply that situation with the thousands that would follow, and you are looking at an insurance company in serious trouble, which would probably lead to another bailout, government takeover, or even the collapse of the insurance industry.  The Republicans are opposed to universal health care because it is the ultimate example of socialism, and they are criticized by the liberals for being mean-spirited and not caring for the health of the people.  It is total arrogance for the liberals to think for even a moment that they are intelligent enough to oversee the health care of the entire nation, but that is one of their goals.  Within the next four years you will see steps taken that will transform our health care system, and whether it works or not, the liberals will view it as a success, even though health care quality will obviously suffer as a result of those changes.

Then, there is the enormous amount of social programs that exist within this country.  The programs were initially geared toward those who were truly in need, but are so full of waste and fraud that they are more of a burden than what the initial purpose was to be. Our Government is gradually reaching the point that it will provide for anyone, all that they may want or need, and as a result, we are breeding a generation of lazy people that have no motivation, and do not even understand the meaning of individual responsibility.   The liberals seem to think that it is the job of the government to make our lives easier to live.  What they are doing is to prevent individual responsibility, and to gradually eliminate living our lives by our own terms.  There is a major difference between helping someone, and controlling their lives, and with the liberal agenda, it is all about the control, and if you cannot distinguish between the two, you are truly blind.  I have heard it said quite often that this is the worst economic situation in America since the great depression.  During the great depression, people were standing in lines with hopes of getting something to eat.  Now, people are standing in lines with hopes of saving their $500,000 homes. Have we evolved to the point that we can no longer distinguish between suffering, and going through difficult times.  Is this really the change you were wanting?

Consider the following.  President Obama has just signed the $787 billion economic stimulus plan that will have nothing to do with stimulating the economy.  It is full of pork, even though President Obama, himself denies it, and this pork is not even related to anything that represents stimulating the economy, but gives the appearance that something is being done.  President Obama has determined that it is the purpose and responsibility of the federal government to prevent foreclosures from happening at the expense of the taxpayers.  How do you convince someone who lives in an apartment complex that his or her tax dollars are to be used to pay for someone else to avoid losing their $500,000 home?  If I do not make enough money to purchase a house, why would anyone with an ounce of sense expect me to pay with my tax dollars for someone else to keep their home?  Stop taking money from someone who makes $25,000 to help a family that has an income of $200,000 dollars because they are not being responsible with their personal finances.  Someone needs to tell these idiots we have in Washington that this is unacceptable, and they need to take a few steps back, read the United States Constitution, and use it as a guideline instead of ruling by an overactive imagination along with their ongoing deception.  This whole situation with the economy will result in future loss of jobs, and many of them will be in Washington.  If someone cannot afford to stay in his or her home because of the inability to balance a personal budget, why would the solution to the problem be to dip into the budget of the federal government?  Our tax dollars should not be used to prevent us from going through difficult times, but the liberals seem determined to purchase your future votes by providing everything that may be needed in our lives.  Individual responsibility has been thrown out the window, and it was part of the liberal plan from the beginning.  The liberals are so far into the process of changing our country from a democracy into a socialized government, that the majority of Americans will be totally dependent on the government within the next four years, with the exception of those who choose to live their lives by their own terms without government intervention.  Just look what President Obama has done in his first twenty days in office.  At this pace, can you imagine what he will do within the next four years?  The transparency that was promised is totally non-existent, because with all that President Obama says will be done is being implemented without a real understanding of what will result from the actions that are being thrown at the economy without a real plan of action.  The only thing we know for sure about the ongoing economic strategy, is that at the end of the process, the government will be much more in control of our everyday lives, and we will gradually be unable to live our lives by our own terms, because the government will be in charge of all aspects of our lives.  It is embarrassing for me to watch what is happening within our country at this time.  Almost everyone seems to have their hands out waiting to see what the federal government will give them, next.  This give-me mentality was once mainly concerning the poor, and lower income part of our society, but now includes many that have incomes en excess of $200,000 who are looking for an easy outlet, as opposed to just working harder in order to be responsible for handling their own problems.  There is absolutely no need to be responsible as an individual because the federal government is promising to do everything that is needed to make sure you will get through this economic situation.  The plan that President Obama has begun, whereas you will not have to worry about anything because he will find a way to make your lives easier, can only accomplish one thing.  It will put us so far into the grips of the government, that our very lives will be controlled by them, and the policies that they are daily putting into action will be very hard, if even possible to reverse.

Our finances will be handled by the government, education will be provided by the government, the banks, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, doctors, education, our homes, our food, and all else that is a part of our lives will be controlled by the government if we allow this liberal agenda to continue.  It is happening now, and unless you are blind, you should be able to see that this non-sense we are being fed on a daily basis is geared at doing nothing other than to relinquish you from living your lives in a manner other than that dictated by those who are pushing this agenda.  What we are seeing before our eyes on a daily basis is not a compassionate government.  What we should see, if we are not blinded and brainwashed by those who are pushing this socialist agenda is a government that is in the process of dismissing all that our forefathers set as guidelines for the future of America.  Unless we, as a country take this situation seriously, our country will change forever, because it will be a long, hard task to reverse this process once it has been put into the very structure of our governing process.  All of us, as American citizens need to simply do our own research and understand what socialism is and what it will do to cause a decline in our society like we have never imagined.  We need to stop believing that this is not a movement toward socialism simply because the liberals deny it, and because of our ignorance, just allow it to continue.  Once it is here, you will see it for all it truly is and it will then be too late to simply change our minds.  It will take decades to reverse the damage, and the cost of what is being done now will take even longer.  Do what is right for the country, and the people that make up the country, and stop simply following a party agenda that does not put your true wants and needs as a top priority.  I say that it is time for the American people to grow up and be responsible for their own lives, so that we are not concerned with what the federal government will do to make our lives easier.  It is not the job of the government to make our lives easier to live, and it will only continue to breed a nation of lazy, irresponsible, and needy people.  We, as individuals need to make mistakes, and occasionally go through difficult times.  We learn through this process, and as a result we develop wisdom.  If everyone had done their part in controlling their own lives, we would not need the government to step in to do what we have not done for ourselves in the first place.

Individual responsibility plays a major role in our lives, and if this were the normal for the whole country, many of the problems that we face today, would not exist.  I say to anyone who does not believe this to be true, that you are one of the people that need to look closely at what is happening within our great country, and understand what you are doing to cause it rather than to prevent it.  It is a frightening thought to believe that the liberals are honestly convinced that this economic strategy that has been thrown together will do anything other than to increase government spending in a way that will accomplish nothing other than allowing more government control in all aspects of our lives.  What scares me is the fact that the true goal is to achieve that government control at any cost, because the control that will result from the stimulus plan is the only thing we know for sure to be predictable.  We, the American people had better wake up, and realize that we need to stop assuming that the government has the best interest of the country in mind, when choosing between that and their party agenda.  Our government officials are ignoring too many negative parts of the plan that will result in shooting us as a country into the direction of a society ruled by socialism. I am not opposed to President Obama or the Democrats.  I am opposed to what they are doing to the country, while telling us that they will solve all of our problems.  Stop trying to help us to live a simple, uncomplicated life, where we are to believe that all we want or need will be provided for us.  It is not the job of the government, and with this process, our country will change forever.  We do not need that kind of change.  I say to the true liberals that if you honestly believe what President Obama is doing is in the best interest of the future of America that you are either blind, or you are simply going along with your party agenda.  No one within their right mind, and this includes President Obama, can possibly believe that what is being done to improve the American economy has even a possibility of being successful.

If all of President Obama’s plans are allowed to be implemented, the only sure outcome will be that America will be well on its way to becoming a socialist country.  Our country is being reconstructed, and it is being done while ignoring the United States Constitution, and by doing so, our country will forever be changed.  Vic Damico

Tags: Politics political economics vic damico

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Night Voyage To The Unknown

My secret could never be shared, and I have known that since my eyes and mind became familiar with that which shall remain only within me.  The old house seems to have memories, but the story goes much farther than simply memories, and even beyond the everyday world known to others.  At the bottom of the stairs, at the very end of the hallway, there is a door that holds my secret and seems to have taken steps to ensure that the secret is to remain with me.  Others are involved, although indirectly, and even without their knowledge as to their overall invisible existence, as they merely move through life making that connection with my world.  I move silently within the night, undetected by anyone, and my movement covers much ground, much more than your laws of time would allow in the world you have come to know.  We exist together as one, yet without your knowledge, and in a manner that exceeds your ability to acknowledge, understand, or to even exist within your own mind based on your personal inability to process my stealth movement, as I dance between your thoughts and visions.  But, I am there, and I see your past, your present, and even your future, and my task is to allow the three time elements to serve a purpose that fine tunes who you were, who you are, and who you are to become.  It is a never-ending process that is far more complicated than your mind could ever conceive.

The Door

The door that leads to the basement is never locked, and anyone wishing to venture into the basement is not prohibited, or even discouraged.  The basement is typical to any other, and only strays from that normality as it applies to knowledge that exists solely within me, and that secret will remain a secret.  In the very center of the north wall of the basement is a pattern of bricks formed in the concrete wall.  The pattern is a circle with arrows extending from the outside of the circle pointing in twelve directions, as with the face of a clock.  Anyone who may see this simply envisions a pattern, yet in reality, it could never be understood, even if I were to explain the meaning of the brick formation in the wall. 

How I enter

When the time is right, I place my palms against the wall, in the center of the circle of bricks.  I then close my eyes, think of the twelve directions of the arrows, and within minutes, I am on the other side.

The other side

I, and the path only know what is before me, and the very precise movement from this point forward is the result of where I choose to take it.  My direction is not determined, or even connected to my personal motivation or choices, but is based on the very environment that is presented by those whose lives will be represented as I travel mentally through the night. 

When I enter the other side, I find myself seated in a massive chair, carved from granite and the cold, hard stone seems to make me comfortable, yet transcends a sense of neutrality as I wait.  As I look in all directions around me, I see endless voids that indicate to me the vast areas my travels will take me when the time is right.  On either side of the chair are tables, carved from the same granite, each with the same pattern as the basement wall carved into their surfaces.  On the table to my right is a book, an ancient representation of all of my past travels, a precise record of actions and events that serve as a guide as future movement on my part will come to be.  On the table to my left is a globe, a small representation of the Earth, and all that is a part of its spherical existence.  The book and the globe serve a specific purpose and when the time is right, I will utilize them, as only I can. 

How I travel

Each night, at midnight, I stand at the basement wall, with my palms pressed firmly against the concrete wall in the center of the brick circle surrounded by the twelve arrows.  In only a moment, I find myself sitting in the granite chair on the other side.  I remove the book from the table on the right, and place it upon my lap.  I remove the globe from the table on the left and grasp it firmly with both hands, allowing it to rest upon the book.  I close my eyes, and my travel begins.  Although I am physically confined to the chair, mentally and spiritually, I am sent flying in twelve directions, each with its own specific goal and motivation.  My movement is unclear to me, for I have no associated memory as to the actions and events that are a part of my travels.  All I do, where I go, and whose lives that I am connected with are all stored in the book from the table, and that information remains a secret within that book from all, including me.

What I accomplish within my travels

With my movement each night, I have no true recollection as to the actual accomplishments, or to whom they are connected with as I move.  There is a somewhat vague imprint in the back of my mind that suggest that there are those who are given direction, and even help as it relates to individual problems or challenges within the daily lives of those who I touch within my travels.  But details are not a part of my memory, and only the subtle hint that my purpose is in fact that of a positive manipulation of what should be as opposed to how it could be, remains to create a motivation for me to continue with my travels in the night.  I just accept the fact that even though I have my secret, that there are secrets held by others that are to be respected, just as are mine.  And at midnight, I will again travel, and even though my thoughts and understandings will be unclear to me, I know that my purpose will be to continue to my secret night voyage into the unknown.

Vic Damico 2011 

Tags: Writing Poetry Short Story

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This is the first poem written as a challenge to myself on another site, and I decided to place it here as well...

The Poetry Challenge is complete.  I asked you to give me words to use in the write,  and you did well.  Many of you gave me multiple words, and I chose to use at least one of them, although some of you presented more than one word that I used in the write.  The only two words that I did not use were “DENTIST”  and “BEARS”…I say to those who submitted them, that with the theme of “FEAR” they just did not find a way into the write.  For that, I am sorry.  I want to thank everyone who contributed words to the challenge.  The write would not exist without those words, so you did play a role in this write.  I hope you enjoy what I did with those words…

Here is the list of words that you submitted.

Dark

Rats

Heights

Panic

Police

Apprehension

Chills

Betrayal

Paranoia

Desperation

Trepidation

Mirror

Adrenaline

Hysteria

Suspended Terror

Silence

Madness

Petrified

Nightmare

Scream

Shattered

Alarm

Macabre

Evil

Cringe

Vengeful

Falling

Angst

Terrifying

Shudder

Horror

Torture

Alone

Here is the final result

The Fear That Lives Within Me

I ran into an alley that separated the two buildings
It was dark, and this was a good place to catch my breath
Remaining perfectly still, I listened for the one following me
My pulse was racing and my head was killing me

Proceeding slowly, I made my way to the end of the alley
Rats scurried about my feet, yet I just continued to move on
The night air felt cold and a light rain made it much worse
I knew I could not remain here, so I moved on into the night

On the side of the building I saw a ladder that led to the roof
Against my better judgment, I slowly began to climb the cold metal
In only a moment, I found myself on top of the building
It suddenly occurred to me that I had dismissed my fear of heights

I leaned carefully over the edge of the roof to see if I was followed
Consumed by panic, I quickly moved away from the edge
I sat on the cold, wet roof and just thought for a moment
Staying here is not an option, I must continue moving

In a matter of minutes, my feet were planted firmly on the ground
Out of the alley, and back on the dark streets of the city
A police car came screeching around the corner in front of me
I ducked into a doorway until it made its way past my position

The streets were empty, no cars or people anywhere to be seen
Apprehension and anticipation seemed to be the enemies of the night
I moved slowly down the street looking in all directions as I progressed
Knowing that any minute, things could change for the worst

The wind increased and suddenly it seemed much colder than before
My thin jacket was no match for the chills within the night
Thoughts of a roaring fire at my feet brought a moment of comfort
Then I was slapped by reality, so the comfort was short lived

The warmth of the sunlight was still hours away and much needed
But for now, I must deal with the betrayal of the cruelties of the night
I venture from one street to another searching for anything that is normal
But my world is filled with nothingness with more to be found as I move

Exhaustion has covered me and my mind is no longer a part of me
Seeing what is not there and hearing sounds that do not exist anywhere
Yes, in my state of mind paranoia has reared its ugly head to rule me
Reasoning and logic has been removed from the thought process

Hungry and cold, searching for the cure for this pain inducing entity
Guided by desperation, blindness, and a sense of self worth
Looking into a future that seems to have forgotten my existence
Wondering just how much tolerance can possibly remain within me

As the night progresses, I find myself moving more quickly
Continuing to maneuver through the uncertainty that surrounds me
Trepidation fills my mind and demands caution in my movement
I find myself looking over my shoulder to ensure inner sanity

I stop in front of a store that caters to those who are monetarily blessed
The finest of crystal and china from all over the world
I peer into a mirror placed in the window display before me
The image that I see is not mine, but a total stranger unknown to me

Suddenly I feel as though my heart rate has increased greatly
My adrenaline is pumping and sweat is pouring from my forehead
I run back into the alley and sit by the dumpster shaking in fear
This night has taken me again into my alternate state of mind

Tonight is as it always is; I live within my own world
Escaping from myself, from a life that creates and moves upon fear
Stuck in a state of hysteria that breeds upon each breath I take
Time seems to stand still; I move within its shadows

Sometimes, even in my awakened state, I find myself dreaming
My mind slips away and leaves me stranded within myself
Bathing in a suspended terror that comes with the territory
My inner self fights the pressure, but with a fruitless attempt

Finally, I am up and about again, venturing through the dark of the night
Sifting through the deadness, the void that I have slowly become
Listening to the silence as it calls my name in the distance
The voices in my head respond to the ongoing confusion

Slowly I proceed into the darkness, seeing what is not there
Hearing sounds that have not been made, but still reaching my ears
Has madness consumed my mind, or has reality escaped me?
As I sift through my thoughts, I slip farther into myself

Each night brings a new episode, a new entrance into the darkness
An unclear path that has unwillingly been placed into my mind
Moving with caution, petrified by all that surrounds me
Holding onto my understanding of sanity in an insane world

I slowly make my way through the streets that are in search of my soul
Looking into the shops as they softly speak to me in their own way
Wide awake, but living in a nightmare that I created within me
Sometimes uncertain if I am awake or in a state of higher consciousness

In the stillness of the night, peace and comfort seem to avoid me
As always, I can hear a scream in the distance getting closer and louder
It has become so common that I no longer pay it much attention
My mind can no longer distinguish between imagination and reality

At times I feel completely consumed with anger and confusion
Filled with emotions that cannot be fully explained within my mind
Holding onto anything that my mind has not already shattered
Setting aside that which lurks in the world beyond my control

As I move, a piercing sound drills its way into my head
I cover my ears as the alarm continues to blast in the distance
I reverse my step and move quickly in the opposite direction
The sound seems to follow me as my escape become fruitless

Quite often I slip away totally, engulfed by that which I do not understand
Plagued with a macabre delusion of what is growing in my head
It adds to the confusion and leads me farther into the darkness
I search for the light, but it seldom will show itself to me

I suddenly pause, finding myself frozen in my tracks
A shadowy figure stands across the street from where I am
Totally still, yet he is representative of pure evil
I have crossed his path many times in the past

My nightly ventures are never without conflict and doubt
The man on the other side always will be a part of it
As I look into his eyes, I cringe and go deep into myself
It is my defense mechanism that I have developed to survive

I cope with the night with the best of my abilities
At times, I feel vengeful, but no retaliation will occur
No, that would suggest that I have even a slight control
Of what is clearly far beyond even my comprehension

The feeling that seems to grab and hold tightly to my existence
Is like I am falling, and yet I never reach the bottom
A fear that is guided by more fear that is never ending
It holds onto me with every move that I make in the night

Afraid to make a move, yet knowing that I will do just that
Powered and propelled by an angst that grows in the darkness
That next step is full of fear, but that behind me urges me on
Hoping that one choice is more beneficial than the other

I look again, and the stranger in the street has vanished
I should feel comfort, but I find it to be terrifying
Now, I wonder if he lurks behind me, following my steps
Just a new addition to the night that controls my soul

At this stage of the night, I find myself completely overwhelmed
I feel a shudder with every single breath that I take
My mind is no longer in control of what I see or think
Reality has escaped me, leaving a void filled by the night

I find myself looking over my shoulder with every step I take
The fear within me has taken me to another place in life
Consumed by a horror that grows by the minute
It has taken hold of me and will not let me go

I have learned to accept whatever may come my way
Dealing with it by hiding deeply within my inner self
Accepting the torture that tracks me as an animal
There is nothing that is within my power to eliminate it

So, I continue, and I deal with it as well as can be expected
I feel an emptiness and fear within every single moment
No one to console me; I am all alone and completely numb
And tomorrow will bring me more of the same

Vic Damico 06.15.2011

Tags: Poetry, Poems, Writing, Vic Damico

4 comments View Entry

Here is a poem I posted on another site as a personal challenge to myself.  I decided to place it on this site, as well...

My poetry challenge (number two) is complete.  I asked that you all give me words that I would use to create this write, and as with the first challenge, you did quite well.   Many of you submitted multiple words, and I believe that I used at least one word from each of you, and with some of you, more than one.  The theme of the write was “THE MOON.”  I thank each of you for the wonderful words that you gave me to use.  You played a major role in this write, because without those words, it would not exist…Thank you, my friends…Vic

Here is a list of the words submitted and used in the poem…

Omen

Blood

Harvest

Bright

Silvery

Tsunami

Magic

Lunatic Fringe

Shadows

Deranged

Werewolf

Ghastly

Cold

Arid

Veils

Beautiful

Exhilarating

Caliginous

Luminous

Lunar

Elusive

Mystical

Luna

Moonstruck

A Sea Of Tranquility

Moonlight

Moonshine

Here is the finished product…Enjoy…

That Nightly Glow From Above

She sat in a chair watching as the sun disappeared into the horizon
Vanishing and ending the day, as the night immediately greets her
As if being hit by an omen, she knew of the vision before seeing it
She raised her head to the sky and she witnessed that glowing presence

As with most, that illuminating essence had an affect on her as well
She took a deep breath, feeling her pulse increase as she watched
It seemed that she could hear the blood as it moved through her veins
The moon grabs her soul and demands unconditional loyalty as only it can

The power of the night is strong and it speaks silently yet with authority
And as it touches her, it seems to harvest her inner emotional self
A faint smile comes to her face and her eyes seem to be glowing
The bright light from above has taken her to another place within her

She closes her eyes and yet she can still see just as clearly
That vision has been planted within her, and has taken hold
Yes, she is within the grasp of that giant silvery sphere
And it will hold her and comfort her throughout the night

She sits upright in her chair and looks all around her
What usually seemed plain and insignificant was now glowing
The normal stillness of the night and the ordinary simple existence
Now hits her as a Tsunami of imaginative treasures

Many view the moon with various insights and understandings
Some are too preoccupied to see it for what it is
But as she sits quietly, she sees and feels the overwhelming magic
That has entered and taken complete control of this night

There are those who do not see the brilliance of the moon at all
To them, it represents a much darker side, and it is just as real
Instead of the calmness and the silent contentment in the night
It creates a lunatic fringe within them, and a presence of evil

Some insist that the moon is able to alter behavioral practices
Taking some from normal to the not so normal existence
While some concentrate on the intense illumination of the night
Others see a night that is filled with shadows and uncertainty

Things that go bump in the night come into their minds
Looking for that which exist only within themselves
Moving them from normal thoughts to deranged illusions
If only for the night, it seems to control their direction

There also exist that which goes beyond comprehension and understanding
Visions and fears of a werewolf or a vampire, yes, the darker side
To many, they are quite real, filling them with ghastly thoughts
The moon is far more than a simple light in the sky

She has now moved from the chair and is simply exploring the night
Taking in its glory, not allowing herself to overlook anything around her
She suddenly notices the cold and arid air is trying to distract her
The chill is simply dismissed; it will not overtake this blessing

She is now slowly walking amongst the trees, and they are many
As she walks under them, She notices the darkness take its place
The trees act as veils keeping the light from reaching her eyes
So she moves away from the trees and back into the light

But to her, she sees it exactly as it is, and she accepts it openly
The moon is glorious to her, a true source of solitude and peace
A beautiful observation to be shared by all willing to take the time
To look into the sky for a moment at just the right time

She returns to her chair continuing to let the night consume her
It comes natural with her; she finds it quite exhilarating
Her inner mind has moved to that special place in the sky
For this one night, it lives as part of her, and she welcomes it

The moon places her into her complete state of contentment
Not seeing the caliginous side, but only the beauty it brings
All that troubles her has been shifted to a distant consciousness
What remains within her is a pure state of mind

The luminous globe sits quietly but proudly in the sky
Impossible to ignore as the special night continues to thrive within her
Nothing else seems to matter to her, she just takes it all inside her
Holding tightly onto the moment as a mother clutching her child

Then there is the lunar connections viewed by so many around us
The controlling of the tides, when to plant crops in the field
The moon plays different roles in the lives of us all
And in our own way, we all seem to be connected to it

But to the girl in the chair the moon is quite elusive
She could never accurately describe what it means to her
But she doesn’t try; she keep it all to herself
Escaping into her own world and enjoying every moment

She sits alone in a self-induced trance, if just for a while
The mystical object in the sky continues to hold her
Knowing in her mind that she does not want this night to end
Engulfed with and inner peace that fulfills her completely

The bella luna; that beautiful, magnificent moon
It touches us all, each of us in a different manner
Not just a vision before us, but a presence of unequaled glory
Leaving us moonstruck, taking us out of the ordinary

The night moves on and the moon seems to get stronger
A sea of tranquility, the essence of the night
It cannot be ignored, nor can it be taken for granted

The glowing emotion grows within us all as does the time

She leans back in her chair and closes her eyes
Feeling the moonlight as it continues to seep into her
Gradually she slips into a deep, peaceful sleep
Just a little too much of that moonshine from the sky

Vic Damico 06.18.2011

Challenge number three coming soon…

Tags: Poetry, Poems, Writing, Vic Damico

6 comments View Entry

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in 1968 that consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, drummer John Bonham, and bassist John Paul Jones. With their heavy, guitar-driven blues rock sound, Led Zeppelin are regularly cited as one of the progenitors of heavy metal[2][3] and hard rock,[4][5] even though the band's individualistic style drew from many sources and transcends any one music genre.[6][7] Led Zeppelin did not release songs from their albums as singles in the United Kingdom, as they preferred to develop the concept of album-oriented rock.[3]
More than 30 years after disbanding following Bonham's death in 1980, Led Zeppelin continue to be held in high regard for their artistic achievements, commercial success, and broad influence. The band are widely considered to be one of the most successful, innovative and influential bands in the history of rock music. Led Zeppelin have sold over 200 million albums worldwide according to some sources,[8] while other sources state sales of more than 300 million records,[9] including 111.5 million certified units in the United States,[10] making them one of the world's best-selling music artists of all time, as well as the second best selling band of all time in the United States.[10] They have had all of their original studio albums reach the top 10 of the Billboard album chart in the US, with six reaching the number one spot.[11] Rolling Stone magazine has described Led Zeppelin as "the heaviest band of all time",[12] "the biggest band of the '70s"[13] and "unquestionably one of the most enduring bands in rock history".[2] Similarly, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame described the band in the 1970s as being "as influential in that decade as The Beatles were in the prior one".[14]
In 2007, the surviving members of Led Zeppelin reunited (along with John Bonham's son, Jason) for the Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert at The O2 Arena in London. The band was honoured with the "Best Live Act" prize for their one-off reunion at MOJO Awards 2008,[15] where they were described as the "greatest rock and roll band of all time."

Formation
In 1966, Jimmy Page joined the blues-influenced rock band The Yardbirds to replace bassist Paul Samwell-Smith. Shortly after, Page switched from bass to lead guitar, creating a dual lead-guitar lineup with Jeff Beck. Following the departure of Beck in October 1966, The Yardbirds, who were tired from constant touring and recording, began to wind down.[17] Page wanted to form a supergroup with himself and Beck on guitars, and The Who's rhythm section—drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle.[18] Vocalists Steve Winwood and Steve Marriott were also considered for the project.[19][20] The group never formed, although Page, Beck and Moon did record a song together in 1966, "Beck's Bolero", which is featured on Beck's 1968 album, Truth. The recording session also included bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones, who told Page that he would be interested in collaborating with him on future projects.[21]
The Yardbirds played their final gig in July 1968 at Luton College of Technology in Bedfordshire, England.[22] They were still committed to performing several concerts in Scandinavia, so drummer Jim McCarty and vocalist Keith Relf authorised Page and bassist Chris Dreja to use the Yardbirds name to fulfill the band's obligations. Page and Dreja began putting a new line-up together. Page's first choice for lead singer, Terry Reid, declined the offer, but suggested Robert Plant, a Stourbridge singer for the Band of Joy.[3][23] Plant eventually accepted the position, recommending drummer John Bonham from nearby Redditch.[3] When Dreja dropped out of the project to become a photographer (he would later take the photograph that appeared on the back of Led Zeppelin's debut album), John Paul Jones, at the suggestion of his wife, contacted Page about the vacant position.[24] Being familiar with Jones' credentials, Page agreed to bring in Jones as the final piece.
The group played together for the first time in a room below a record store on Gerrard Street in London.[25][26] Page suggested that they try playing "Train Kept A-Rollin'", a rockabilly song popularised by Johnny Burnette that had been given new life by the Yardbirds. "As soon as I heard John Bonham play," recalled Jones, "I knew this was going to be great... We locked together as a team immediately."[27] Shortly afterwards, the group played together on the final day of sessions for the P.J. Proby album, Three Week Hero. The album's song "Jim's Blues" was the first studio track to feature all four members of the future Led Zeppelin.[19] Proby recalled, "Come the last day we found we had some studio time, so I just asked the band to play while I just came up with the words... They weren't Led Zeppelin at the time, they were the New Yardbirds and they were going to be my band."[28]
The band completed the Scandinavian tour as The New Yardbirds, playing together for the first time in front of a live audience at Gladsaxe Teen Clubs in Gladsaxe, Denmark, on 7 September 1968.[29][30] Later that month, the group began recording their first album, which was based upon their live set at the time. The album was recorded and mixed in nine days, with all costs covered by Page himself.[31] After the album's completion, the band was forced to change their name after Chris Dreja issued a cease and desist letter, stating that Page was only allowed to use the New Yardbirds name for the Scandinavian dates.[32] One account of the band's naming has it that Keith Moon and John Entwistle, drummer and bassist for The Who, respectively, suggested that a possible supergroup containing themselves, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck would go down like a "lead balloon", a traditional joke describing disastrous results.[33] The group deliberately dropped the 'a' in lead at the suggestion of their manager, Peter Grant, to prevent "thick Americans"[21] from pronouncing it "leed".[34] The word "balloon" was transformed into "zeppelin", perhaps an exaggeration of the humour, and to Page the name conjured the perfect combination of heavy and light, combustibility and grace.[33]
Grant also secured for the new band an advance deal of $200,000 from Atlantic Records in November 1968, which was then one of biggest deals of its kind for a new band.[28]. Atlantic was a label known for a catalogue of blues, soul and jazz artists, but in the late 1960s it began to take an interest in progressive British rock acts, and signed Led Zeppelin without having ever seen them, largely on the recommendation of singer Dusty Springfield.[26][35] Under the terms of the contract secured by Grant, the band alone would decide when they would release albums and tour, and had final say over the contents and design of each album. They also would decide how to promote each release and which (if any) tracks to release as singles, and formed their own company, Superhype, to handle all publishing rights.

Early years (1968–70)
The band officially declared they were changing their name to Led Zeppelin on 14 October 1968, and played their first show under the new name at the University of Surrey in Guildford on 25 October.[37] This was followed by a US concert debut on 26 December 1968 before moving on to the west coast for dates in cities including Los Angeles and San Francisco.[38] Led Zeppelin was released in the USA on 12 January 1969, while the tour was underway. It didn't appear in their native UK until 31 March 1969. The album's blend of blues, folk and eastern influences with distorted amplification made it one of the pivotal records in the creation of heavy metal music.[3] Plant has commented that it is unfair for people to typecast the band as heavy metal, since about a third of their music was acoustic.[39] On their first album Plant receives no credit for his contributions to the songwriting, a result of his previous association with CBS Records.[40] By 1975, the album had grossed $7,000,000.[41]

Plant and Page performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival in March 1970. The band would soon retire to the Bron-Yr-Aur cottage in Wales to record Led Zeppelin III.
In their first year, Led Zeppelin managed to complete four US and four UK concert tours, and also released their second album, entitled Led Zeppelin II.[28] Recorded almost entirely on the road at various North American recording studios, the second album was an even greater success and reached the number one chart position in the US and the UK.[42] The band further developed ideas established on their debut album, creating a work which became even more widely acclaimed and arguably more influential.[43] It has been suggested that Led Zeppelin II largely wrote the blueprint for heavy metal bands that followed it.[43][44]
Following the album's release, Led Zeppelin completed several more US tours. They played initially in clubs and ballrooms, then in larger auditoriums as their popularity grew.[3] Some early Led Zeppelin concerts lasted more than four hours, with expanded, improvised live versions of their song repertoire. Many of these shows have been preserved as Led Zeppelin bootleg recordings. It was also during this period of intensive concert touring that the band developed a reputation for off-stage excess.[45] One alleged example of such extravagance was the shark episode, or red snapper incident, which is said to have taken place at the Edgewater Inn in Seattle, Washington, on 28 July 1969.[21][45]
For the composition of their third album, Led Zeppelin III, Page and Plant retired to Bron-Yr-Aur, a remote cottage in Wales, in 1970.[46] The result was a more acoustic sound which was strongly influenced by folk and Celtic music, and revealed the band's versatility.[36] The album's rich acoustic sound initially received mixed reactions, with many critics and fans surprised at the turn taken away from the primarily electric compositions of the first two albums. Over time, its reputation has improved and Led Zeppelin III is now generally praised.[47][48] The album's opening track, "Immigrant Song", was released in November 1970 by Atlantic Records as a single against the band's wishes.[49] It included their only non-album B-side, "Hey Hey What Can I Do". Even though the band saw their albums as indivisible, whole listening experiences, and their manager, Peter Grant, maintained an aggressive pro-album stance, some singles were released without their consent. The group also increasingly resisted television appearances, enforcing their preference that their fans hear and see them in live concerts.

"The Biggest Band In The World" (1971–75)

The four symbols on the label and inside sleeve of Led Zeppelin IV, representing Page, Jones, Bonham and Plant.
Led Zeppelin were one of the most commercially successful and influential groups of the 1970s.[52] The band's popularity in the early years was dwarfed by their mid-seventies successes and it is this period that continues to define them.[21][45] The band's image also changed as members began to wear elaborate, flamboyant clothing. Led Zeppelin began traveling in a private jet airliner (nicknamed The Starship),[45] rented out entire sections of hotels (including the Continental Hyatt House in Los Angeles, known colloquially as the "Riot House"), and became the subject of many of rock's most repeated stories of debauchery. One escapade involved John Bonham riding a motorcycle through a rented floor of the Riot House,[45] while another involved the destruction of a room in the Tokyo Hilton, leading to the band being banned from that establishment for life.[26][53] Although Led Zeppelin developed a reputation for trashing their hotel suites and throwing television sets out of the windows, some suggest that these tales have been somewhat exaggerated. Music journalist Chris Welch argues that "[Led Zeppelin's] travels spawned many stories, but it was a myth that were constantly engaged in acts of wanton destruction and lewd behavior."[26]
Led Zeppelin's fourth album was released on 8 November 1971. There was no indication of a title or a band name on the original cover, as the band disdained being labelled as "hyped" and "overrated" by the music press, and in response wanted to prove that the music could sell itself by giving no indication of who they were.[23] The album remained officially untitled and is most commonly referred to as Led Zeppelin IV, though it is variously referred to by the four symbols appearing on the record label, as Four Symbols and The Fourth Album (both titles were used in the Atlantic Records catalogue), Untitled, Zoso, Runes, or IV.[54] Led Zeppelin IV is one of the best-selling albums in history and its massive popularity cemented Led Zeppelin's superstardom in the 1970s. To date it has sold 23 million copies in the United States.[55] The track "Stairway to Heaven", although never released as a single, is sometimes quoted as being the most requested,[56] and most played[57] album-oriented rock FM radio song.

Plant and Page perform acoustically in Hamburg in March 1973, just before the release of Led Zeppelin's fifth album, Houses of the Holy
Led Zeppelin's next album, Houses of the Holy, was released in 1973. It featured further experimentation, with expanded use of synthesisers and mellotron orchestration. The song "Houses of the Holy" does not appear on its namesake album, even though it was recorded at the same time as other songs that do appear; it eventually made its way onto the 1975 album Physical Graffiti.[21] The orange album cover of Houses of the Holy depicts images of nude children[58] climbing up the Giant's Causeway (in County Antrim, Northern Ireland). Although the children are not depicted from the front, this was controversial at the time of the album's release, and in some areas, such as the "Bible Belt" and Spain, the record was banned.[59][60]
The album topped the charts, and Led Zeppelin's subsequent concert tour of North America in 1973 broke records for attendance, as they consistently filled large auditoriums and stadiums. At Tampa Stadium, Florida, they played to 56,800 fans (breaking the record set by The Beatles at Shea Stadium in 1965), and grossed $309,000.[21] Three sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden in New York were filmed for a motion picture, but the theatrical release of this project (The Song Remains the Same) would be delayed until 1976. Before the final night's performance, $180,000 of the band's money from gate receipts was stolen from a safe deposit box at the Drake Hotel.[61] It was never recovered.[62]
In 1974, Led Zeppelin took a break from touring and launched their own record label, Swan Song, named after one of only five Led Zeppelin songs which the band never released commercially (Page later re-worked the song with his band, The Firm, and it appears as "Midnight Moonlight" on their first album). The record label's logo, based on a drawing called Evening: Fall of Day (1869) by William Rimmer, features a picture of Apollo.[63] The logo can be found on much Led Zeppelin memorabilia, especially t-shirts. In addition to using Swan Song as a vehicle to promote their own albums, the band expanded the label's roster, signing artists such as Bad Company, The Pretty Things, Maggie Bell, Detective, Dave Edmunds, Midnight Flyer, Sad Café and Wildlife.[3] The label was successful while Led Zeppelin existed, but folded less than three years after they disbanded.[21]

Led Zeppelin perform at Chicago Stadium in January 1975, a few weeks before the release of Physical Graffiti
In 1975 Led Zeppelin released the double album, Physical Graffiti, which was their first release on the Swan Song label. It consisted of fifteen songs, eight of which were recorded at Headley Grange in 1974, the remainder being tracks previously recorded but not released on earlier albums. A review in Rolling Stone magazine referred to Physical Graffiti as Led Zeppelin's "bid for artistic respectability", adding that the only competition the band had for the title of 'World's Best Rock Band' were The Rolling Stones and The Who.[64] The album was a massive fiscal and critical success. Shortly after the release of Physical Graffiti, all previous Led Zeppelin albums simultaneously re-entered the top-200 album chart,[21] and the band embarked on another North American tour, again playing to record-breaking crowds. In May 1975, Led Zeppelin played five sold-out nights at the Earls Court Arena in London, at the time the largest arena in Britain.

Hiatus from touring and return (1975–77)
Following these triumphant Earls Court appearances Led Zeppelin took a holiday and planned an autumn tour in America, scheduled to open with two outdoor dates in San Francisco.[50] These plans were thwarted in August 1975 when Robert Plant and his wife Maureen were involved in a serious car crash while on holiday in Rhodes, Greece. Robert suffered a broken ankle and Maureen was badly injured; a blood transfusion saved her life.[21] Unable to tour, Plant headed to the Channel Island of Jersey to spend August and September recuperating, with Bonham and Page in tow. The band then reconvened in Malibu, California. It was during this forced hiatus that much of the material for their next album, Presence, was written.
By this time, Led Zeppelin were the world's number one rock attraction,[50] having outsold most bands of the time, including The Rolling Stones.[21] Presence, released in March 1976, marked a change in the Led Zeppelin sound towards more straightforward, guitar-based jams, departing from the acoustic ballads and intricate arrangements featured on their previous albums. Though it was a platinum seller, Presence received mixed responses from critics and fans and some said the band's excesses may have caught up with them.[3][66] The recording of Presence coincided with the beginning of Page's heroin use, which may have interfered with Led Zeppelin's later live shows and studio recordings, although Page has denied this.[67]

Plant and Page perform in Chicago in April 1977, during Led Zeppelin's last-ever North American tour
Plant's injuries prevented Led Zeppelin from touring in 1976. Instead, the band finally completed the concert film The Song Remains the Same, and the soundtrack album of the film. The recording had taken place during three nights of concerts at Madison Square Garden in July 1973, during the band's concert tour of North America. The film premiered in New York on 20 October 1976, but was given a lukewarm reception by critics and fans.[3] The film was particularly unsuccessful in the UK, where, after being unwilling to tour since 1975 due to a taxation exile, Led Zeppelin were facing an uphill battle to recapture the public spotlight at home.[68]
In 1977, Led Zeppelin embarked on another major concert tour of North America. Here the band set another attendance record, with 76,229 people attending their Pontiac Silverdome concert on 30 April.[69] It was, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the largest attendance to date for a single act show.[50] Though the tour was financially profitable it was beset with off-stage problems. On 19 April over 70 persons were arrested as about 1,000 ticketless fans tried to gatecrash Cincinnati Riverfront Coliseum for two sold out festival seating concerts while some tried to gain entry by throwing rocks and bottles through glass entrance doors. On 3 June a concert at Tampa Stadium was cut short because of a severe thunderstorm, despite tickets printed with "Rain or Shine". A riot broke out amongst the audience, resulting in several arrests and injuries.[70]
After a 23 July show[71] at the Days on the Green festival at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California, John Bonham and members of the band's support staff were arrested after a member of promoter Bill Graham's staff was badly beaten during the band's performance.[21][72] The following day's second Oakland concert[73] would prove to be the band's final live appearance in the United States. Two days later, as the band checked in at a French Quarter hotel for their 30 July performance at the Louisiana Superdome, news came that Plant's five year old son, Karac, had died from a stomach virus. The rest of the tour was immediately cancelled, prompting widespread speculation about the band's future.[3][26]
Bonham's death and break-up (1978–80)

After the death of Bonham (pictured in 1975) on 25 September 1980, the remaining members of Led Zeppelin decided to disband the group.
November 1978 saw the group recording again, this time at Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. The resultant album was In Through the Out Door, which exhibited a degree of sonic experimentation that again drew mixed reactions from critics. Nevertheless, the band still commanded legions of loyal fans, and the album easily reached number 1 in the UK and the US in just its second week on the Billboard album chart. As a result of this album's release, Led Zeppelin's entire catalogue made the Billboard Top 200 between the weeks of 27 October and 3 November 1979.[50]
In August 1979, after two warm-up shows in Copenhagen, Led Zeppelin headlined two concerts at the Knebworth Music Festival, where crowds of close to 120,000 witnessed the return of the band. Plant was not eager to tour full-time again, and even considered leaving Led Zeppelin. He was persuaded to stay by Peter Grant. A brief, low-key European tour was undertaken in June and July 1980, featuring a stripped-down set without the usual lengthy jams and solos. At one show on 27 June, in Nuremberg, Germany, the concert came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the third song when John Bonham collapsed on stage and was rushed to a hospital.[74] Press speculation arose that Bonham's problem was caused by an excess of alcohol and drugs, but the band claimed that he had simply overeaten, and they completed the show.[21][75]
On 24 September 1980, John Bonham was picked up by Led Zeppelin assistant Rex King to attend rehearsals at Bray Studios for an upcoming North American tour, the band's first since 1977, scheduled to commence on 17 October.[26] During the journey Bonham had asked to stop for breakfast, where he downed four quadruple vodkas (450 ml), with a ham roll. After taking a bite of the ham roll he said to his assistant, "Breakfast". He continued to drink heavily when he arrived at the studio. A halt was called to the rehearsals late in the evening and the band retired to Page's house—The Old Mill House in Clewer, Windsor. After midnight, Bonham had fallen asleep and was taken to bed and placed on his side. At 1:45 pm the next day Benji LeFevre (who had replaced Richard Cole as Led Zeppelin's tour manager) and John Paul Jones found him dead.[26] The cause of death was asphyxiation from vomit, and a verdict of accidental death was returned at an inquest held on 27 October.[26] An autopsy found no other drugs in Bonham's body. Bonham was cremated on 10 October 1980, and his ashes buried at Rushock parish church in Droitwich, Worcestershire.
The planned North American tour was cancelled, and despite rumours that Cozy Powell, Carmine Appice, Barriemore Barlow, Simon Kirke or Bev Bevan would join the group as his replacement, the remaining members decided to disband after Bonham's death. They issued a press statement on 4 December 1980 confirming that the band would not continue without Bonham. The statement said, "We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend, and the deep sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were," and was simply signed "Led Zeppelin".[26]
Post-breakup events
1980s
The first significant post-Led Zeppelin project was The Honeydrippers, a band formed in 1981 by Robert Plant and featuring Jimmy Page on lead guitar, along with an array of studio musicians and friends of Plant and Page, including Jeff Beck, Paul Shaffer, and Nile Rodgers. Plant intentionally chose to focus the band in a very different direction from Led Zeppelin, playing standards and more R&B style, highlighted by their cover of "Sea of Love", which peaked at number 3 on the Billboard charts in very early 1985.[76]

Jimmy Page performs at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, 1983
In 1982, the surviving members of the group released a collection of out-takes from various sessions during Led Zeppelin's career, entitled Coda. It included two tracks taken from the band's performance at the Royal Albert Hall in 1970, one each from the Led Zeppelin III and Houses of the Holy sessions, and three from the In Through the Out Door sessions. It also featured a 1976 John Bonham drum instrumental with electronic effects added by Jimmy Page, called "Bonzo's Montreux".
On 13 July 1985, Page, Plant and Jones reunited for the Live Aid concert at JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, playing a short set featuring drummers Tony Thompson and Phil Collins and bassist Paul Martinez. Collins had contributed to Plant's first two solo albums while Martinez was a member of Plant's current solo band. The performance was marred by the lack of rehearsal with the two drummers, Page's struggles with an out-of-tune Les Paul and poorly functioning monitors, and by Plant's hoarse voice.[77][78] Page himself has described the performance as "pretty shambolic"[79] and "clearly wasn't good enough,"[80] while Plant was even harsher, characterising it as an "atrocity".[77]
The three members reunited again on 14 May 1988, for the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert, with Bonham's son, Jason Bonham, on drums. The reunion was again compromised by a disjointed performance, particularly by Plant and Page (the two having argued immediately prior to coming on stage about whether to play "Stairway to Heaven"), and by the complete loss of Jones' keyboards on the live television feed.[78][81] Page later described the performance as "one big disappointment", and Plant said unambiguously that "the gig was foul".[81]
1990s
The first Led Zeppelin box set, featuring tracks remastered under the supervision of Jimmy Page, introduced the band's music to many new fans, stimulating a renaissance for Led Zeppelin. This set included four previously unreleased tracks, including the Robert Johnson tribute "Travelling Riverside Blues". The song peaked at number seven on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, with the video in heavy rotation on MTV. 1992 saw the release of the "Immigrant Song"/"Hey Hey What Can I Do" (the original B-side) as a CD single in the US. Led Zeppelin Boxed Set 2 was released in 1993; the two box sets together containing all known studio recordings, as well as some rare live tracks.
In 1994, Page and Plant reunited in the form of a 90 minute "UnLedded" MTV project. They later released an album called No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded, which featured some reworked Led Zeppelin songs, and embarked on a world tour the following year. This is said to be the beginning of the inner rift between the band members, as Jones was not even told of the reunion.[24][82] When asked where Jones was, Plant had replied that he was out "parking the car".[83]
In 1995, Led Zeppelin were inducted into the United States Rock and Roll Hall of Fame—their first year of eligibility—by Aerosmith's vocalist, Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry. Jason and Zoe Bonham also attended, representing their late father. At the induction ceremony, the band's inner rift became apparent when Jones joked upon accepting his award, "Thank you, my friends, for finally remembering my phone number", causing consternation and awkward looks from Page and Plant.[84] Afterwards, they played a brief set with Tyler and Perry (featuring Jason Bonham on drums), and with Neil Young and Michael Lee replacing Bonham.
In 1997 Atlantic released a single edit of "Whole Lotta Love" in the US and the UK, making it the only Led Zeppelin UK CD single. Additional tracks on this CD-single are "Baby Come On Home" and "Travelling Riverside Blues". It is the only single the band ever released in the UK. It peaked at number 21.[85] 11 November 1997 saw the release of Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions, the first Led Zeppelin album in fifteen years. The two-disc set included almost all of the band's recordings for the BBC. Page and Plant released another album called Walking into Clarksdale in 1998, featuring all new material. The album was not as successful as No Quarter, and the band slowly dissolved.
2000s
In 2003 two live Led Zeppelin documents were released: the double live album How the West Was Won, and Led Zeppelin DVD, a six-hour chronological set of live footage that became the best-selling music DVD in history.[86] That same year the band received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In November 2005, it was announced that Led Zeppelin and Russian conductor Valery Gergiev were the winners of the 2006 Polar Music Prize. The King of Sweden presented the prize to Plant, Page, and Jones, along with John Bonham's daughter, in Stockholm in May 2006.[87] In November 2006, Led Zeppelin were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame.[88]
On 27 July 2007, Atlantic/Rhino and Warner Home Video announced three new Led Zeppelin titles to be released in November 2007. First was Mothership on 13 November, a 24-track best-of spanning the band's career, followed by a reissue of the soundtrack to The Song Remains the Same on 20 November which includes previously unreleased material, and a new DVD.[89] On 15 October 2007, it was reported that Led Zeppelin were expected to announce a new series of agreements that make the band's songs available as legal digital downloads, first as ringtones through Verizon Wireless then as digital downloads of the band's eight studio albums and other recordings on 13 November.[90] The offerings were made available through both Verizon Wireless and iTunes. On 8 November 2007, XM Satellite Radio launched XM LED, the network's first artist-exclusive channel dedicated to Led Zeppelin. On 13 November 2007, Led Zeppelin's complete works were published on iTunes.

Led Zeppelin performing at the Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert in December 2007
On 10 December 2007, Led Zeppelin reunited for the one-off Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert, with Jason Bonham taking up his late father's place on drums. According to Guinness World Records 2009, Led Zeppelin hold the world record for the "Highest Demand for Tickets for One Music Concert" as 20 million requests for the reunion show were rendered online.[91] The concert was to help raise money for the Ahmet Ertegün Education Fund, which pays for university scholarships in the UK, US and Turkey. Music critics praised the band's performance. Hamish MacBain of NME proclaimed, "What they have done here tonight is proof they can still perform to the level that originally earned them their legendary reputation... We can only hope this isn't the last we see of them."[92]
In an interview promoting the release of the Mothership compilation in Tokyo early in 2008, Jimmy Page stated that he was prepared to embark upon a world tour with Led Zeppelin, but due to Robert Plant's tour commitments with Alison Krauss, such plans would not be announced until at least September.[93] Showing enthusiasm for continued performing, in late spring Page and Jones joined Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl and drummer Taylor Hawkins onstage at Wembley Stadium to perform Led Zeppelin tracks "Rock and Roll" and "Ramble On".[94]
After the BBC reported in late August that Page, Jones and Bonham were recording material which could become a new Led Zeppelin project,[95] rumours of a reunion began to accumulate through the remaining summer.[96][97][98] On 29 September Plant released a statement in which he called reports of a Led Zeppelin reunion "frustrating and ridiculous". He said he would not be recording or touring with the band, before adding, "I wish Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham nothing but success with any future projects."[99][100]
Following Plant's statement, authoritative but divergent views of the possibility of a Led Zeppelin reunion tour the next year were offered by John Paul Jones and promoter Harvey Goldsmith. In late October, Jones confirmed to BBC Radio Devon in Exeter that he, Page, and Bonham were seeking a replacement for Plant. Goldsmith commented on the prospect of a Led Zeppelin reunion, casting doubt on the possibility or wisdom of such a venture: "I think that there is an opportunity for them to go out and present themselves. I don't think a long rambling tour is the answer as Led Zeppelin." The Ertegün Concert promoter felt the result of the ongoing plans of Jones, Page, and Bonham would not be "called Led Zeppelin".[101] A spokesman for Page later confirmed this, telling Rolling Stone that the name Led Zeppelin would not be used due to the absence of Plant.[102] Singers who auditioned for the project included Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and Myles Kennedy of Alter Bridge.[103] In January 2009, Page's manager Robert Mensch stated that the band had "tried out a few singers, but no one worked out, that was it. The whole thing is completely over now. There are absolutely no plans for them to continue."[104]
Legacy

A Led Zeppelin T-shirt
Led Zeppelin are widely considered to be one of the most successful, innovative and influential bands in the history of rock music. Rock critic Mikal Gilmore said, "Led Zeppelin—talented, complex, grasping, beautiful and dangerous—made one of the most enduring bodies of composition and performance in twentieth-century music, despite everything they had to overpower, including themselves."[105] Led Zeppelin are often cited as one of the key progenitors of heavy metal and hard rock.[4][5][106]
Led Zeppelin have influenced bands, from Black Sabbath[107] to Megadeth[108][109] and Queen[110] to Velvet Revolver.[111] The band have influenced various progressive rock and progressive metal acts,[112] including Rush,[113] Tool[114] and Dream Theater,[115] as well as influencing some early punk and post-punk bands, among them the Ramones[116][117] and The Cult.[118][119] They were also an important influence on the development of alternative rock, as bands adapted elements from the "Zeppelin sound" of the mid-1970s,[120][121] including The Smashing Pumpkins,[122][123] Nirvana,[124] Pearl Jam[125] and Soundgarden.[126] Bands and artists from diverse genres have also acknowledged the influence of Led Zeppelin, such as Madonna,[127] Shakira,[128] Lady Gaga,[129] and Katie Melua.[130]
Led Zeppelin have been credited with a major impact on the nature of the music business, particularly in the development of album-oriented rock (AOR) and stadium rock.[131][132] In 1988 John Kalodner, then-A&R executive of Geffen Records, remarked that "In my opinion, next to the Beatles they're the most influential band in history. They influence the way music is on records, AOR radio, concerts. They set the standards for the AOR-radio format with 'Stairway to Heaven,' having AOR hits without necessarily having Top 40 hits. They're the ones who did the first real big arena concert shows, consistently selling out and playing stadiums without support. People can do as well as them, but nobody surpasses them."[133] Andrew Loog Oldham, the former producer and manager of The Rolling Stones, commented on how Led Zeppelin had a major influence on the record business, and the way rock concerts were managed and presented to huge audiences.[134] The band sold over 200 million albums worldwide according to some sources,[8] while other sources state that they have sold in excess of 300 million records,[9] including 111.5 million certified units in the United States.[10] According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Led Zeppelin are the fourth highest selling music act in the US and one of only three acts to earn four or more Diamond albums.[135]
Led Zeppelin also had a significant cultural impact.[136] Jim Miller, editor of Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll, argues "On one level, Led Zeppelin represents the final flowering of the sixties' psychedelic ethic, which casts rock as passive sensory involvement."[137] Led Zeppelin were pivotal in the transition of the late sixties rock movement from the central form of mass youth music to its macho, sexual "cock rock" form, as a male form of expression.[52][137][138] The band's fashion-sense has also been seminal; Simeon Lipman, head of pop culture at Christie's auction house, has commented that "Led Zeppelin have had a big influence on fashion because the whole aura surrounding them is so cool, and people want a piece of that."[139] Led Zeppelin laid the foundation for the big hair of 80s bands such as Mötley Crüe and Skid Row. Other musicians have also adapted elements from Led Zeppelin's attitude to apparel, jewellery and hair, such as hipster flares and tight band t-shirts of Kings of Leon, shaggy hair, clingy t-shirts and bluesman hair of Jack White of The White Stripes, and Kasabian guitarist Sergio Pizzorno's silk scarves, trilbies and side-laced tight jeans.[139]
Awards and accolades

Led Zeppelin were voted the "best live act" at 2008 MOJO Awards
See also: List of awards and nominations received by Led Zeppelin
A few of the awards the band have received include a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005,[140] and the Polar Music Prize in 2006.[141] Led Zeppelin were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995,[142] and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004.[143] The band are ranked number 1 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock[144] and Classic Rock's "50 Best Live Acts of All Time".[145] Led Zeppelin remain one of the most bootlegged artists in the history of rock music.[146]
Discography
Main article: Led Zeppelin discography
· Led Zeppelin (1969)
· Led Zeppelin II (1969)
· Led Zeppelin III (1970)
· Led Zeppelin IV (1971)
· Houses of the Holy (1973)
· Physical Graffiti (1975)
· Presence (1976)
· In Through the Out Door (1979)
· Coda (1982)

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